A Missouri church that recently voted to leave Presbyterian Church (USA) over the mainline Protestant denomination's stance on homosexuality is facing a legal battle to keep its property, which is estimated to be worth over $6 million.

Bonhomme Presbyterian Church of Chesterfield decided to disaffiliate from its PCUSA regional body, the Presbytery of Giddings Lovejoy, last October.

Tom Pfizenmaier, senior pastor of Bonhomme Presbyterian Church, told The Christian Post that the decision was made due to "longstanding theological differences with the denomination." more >>

This morning I watched, in a half-embarrassed sort of way, while Nicola Menzie, of The Christian Post, interviewed me. At first, the angle of my head was odd: I looked like a balloon–fat around the jowl–with glasses and a little tuft of hair on my narrowed head. Once I got over that, I settled in to listen.

The interview started with the provocative point that the holy spirit—the spirit of God—is in everyone, including, as the people of The Christian Post noted, an aggressive atheist such as Richard Dawkins. Nicola posed the question perfectly, but I know that many watchers probably stopped listening right there and then, even as I tried to explain that there is a tension in the Bible between the spirit of creation and the spirit of salvation.

Is God's breath entirely different from God's Spirit—when both are called, in Hebrew, ruach? more >>

Influential megachurch Pastor Rick Warren and 49 other Catholic and Evangelical scholars and intellectuals have signed their names to an eight-page declaration that opposes society's growing acceptance of same-sex marriages and labels homosexual unions as a "graver threat" to marriage than widespread divorce and cohabitation because it is a parody of marriage.

The declaration entitled "The Two Shall Become One Flesh: Reclaiming Marriage" was written by the alliance called Evangelicals and Catholics Together and is set to be published in the March edition of the religion journal First Things.

Although the Catholics and Evangelicals involved in the writing of this overarching declaration against sexual sin still hold differences when it comes to the legitimacy of divorce and use of contraception, their differences were set aside as they focused on tackling what they consider to be the biggest problem facing marriage in society today. more >>

A Canadian province's highest court has ruled that a Christian academic institute's lawyers can't be banned from practicing law due to the university's views on homosexuality.

The Nova Scotia Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Trinity Western University students could join the bar, overruling a decision last year by the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society.

Justice Jamie S. Campbell, author of the opinion, concluded that the society's "resolution and regulation infringe on the freedom of religion of TWU and its students in a way that cannot be justified." more >>

The Church of England has spoken out against a bill that British MPs are getting set to vote on which would allow "three-parent babies" to be born from DNA replacement.

"The Archbishops Council, which monitors this issue, does not feel that there has been sufficient scientific study or informed consultation into the ethics, safety and efficacy of mitochondria transfer," Rev. Brendan McCarthy, the Church of England's national adviser on medical ethics, said.

"Without a clearer picture of the role mitochondria play in the transfer of hereditary characteristics, the Church does not feel it would be responsible to change the law at this time." more >>

A survey examining Americans' views on Christian theology revealed that, among even self-identified Christians, there is confusion or disagreement about the Holy Spirit. Is the spirit a force or a personal being? Is the spirit present in only Pentecostal Christians, or in all believers? According to one theologian, the spirit is both a force and a being — and is present in everyone, not just Christians.

The overall findings of the survey, conducted by LifeWay Research and commissioned by Ligonier Ministries, might not be that earth-shattering to some — because, well, Christians and Americans in general believe differently about the Bible on many points. But what "The State of Theology" survey reveals about Evangelical Christians' beliefs about the historical doctrine of the Trinity might be surprising.

While 71 percent of Americans believe in the Trinity, the concept that God exists as three persons (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), 64 percent of them think the Holy Spirit is a force. Among those identified as Evangelical: 59 percent of them say the Holy Spirit is a force; 31 percent say the Holy Spirit is a person; and 10 percent just aren't sure either way (LifeWay). more >>